alena's blog

Hello! Happy Holidays! Yes, long time, no bloggage. No apologies. It's just how it goes when you are an artist. When you are a creative soul, you go through chapters or surges, I like to call them of intense creative drive and productivity. And, you also go through intense periods of introspection and quiet. I call this the artist shadow. We can always see it, but sometimes our face is hidden and we are working behind the scenes, in the shadows, writing the script for the next scene. Sometimes, you just need a break. And, a lot of time at...

A 10 year retrospective on the history & inspiration of alena botanica: 2001-2011 (This blog post was written 6 years ago today on May 18, 2011 from a small town in Central Vermont) Where did this plant-obsessed, visual artist come from, you ask? I started gardening in the temperate Zone 7/8 of the Pacific Northwest 10 years ago, but i didn't realize at the time that the seeds of my future were being sown. When I lived in Oregon in the 1990's, I hiked and gardened almost year round. It is a grower's dream in those fertile valleys. Wild...

I am fond of rituals, numbers, synchronicity and am always looking for the next “sign” to help me on my way and give me comfort that there are other forces at work in the universe besides my tiny brain and ego. I love to watch for snippets of magic that happen between people, in nature and those inexplicable moments where connection occurs through visual art and music. As a lover of the botanical world & garden geek, it will then come as no surprise to you that I have a spirit plant. This plant has appeared at some very significant...

Hello alena botanica family! I am proud & excited to launch alena botanica 2.0 in conjunction with a new web shop & blog, just for you. My old school fans know that I love a good muse and newsletter. For those of you that are new to alena botanica, welcome to our garden. Hope you will sign up for the newsletter and grow with us. Want to learn more about me and how all this plant & beer geekery came to be, check out our story link. I've spent the summer designing lots of new products for you and I am very...